BHUBANESWAR:IN an incident of post-poll violence on Sunday, a 42-year-old woman and her family members of Haripur village under Nimapara block in Puri district were attacked by a candidate who lost the panchayat elections.
The incident occurred at Balia Sasan of Balanga village. Sources said one Maheswar Khatoi was going to his crop field when Bobby alias Pramod Kumar Barik and one of his associates assaulted him. But, Maheswar managed to escape and reported the matter to a couple of elderly persons of the village.
Maheswar said, "Armed with iron rods, Bobby came to my house a few hours later and started assaulting my wife, sister and mother. While two of them escaped with minor injuries, my mother Chanchala fell unconscious during the attack."
Chanchala was rushed to Balanga primary health centre and later shifted to Capital Hospital here. She was later shifted to SCB Medical College and hospital in Cuttack as her condition worsened. Her condition is stated to be critical.
Maheswar said Bobby contested for the post of Sarpanch during rural polls and had offered his family money to vote for him. Since his family supported another candidate who won the election, Bobby was nursing a grudge against him, he said.
Maheswar's uncle lodged a formal complaint with Balanga police which has started investigation and launched a search for the accused persons. However, a case is yet to be registered in this connection.